Underground pipes are frequently used to convey various fluids such as water, crude oil and natural gas. One of the drawbacks of using underground pipes to convey such fluids is that the buried pipes have a tendency to corrode over time. Therefore, before the pipes are buried, the exterior surfaces of the pipes are often coated with a protective corrosion-resistant primer or coating or wrapped in protective tape. However, the protective primer, coating or tape typically delays but does not indefinitely prevent corrosion of the pipe since it is gradually eroded from the surface of the pipe. Thus, the exterior surfaces of underground pipes may require periodic reconditioning to curtail the effects of corrosion and extend the service life of the pipes.
In a typical pipe reconditioning operation, an underground pipe may be removed from the ground and contaminants such as rust and dirt and any residual coating may be initially removed from the exterior surface of the pipe. A replacement protective primer or coating may then be applied to the exterior surface of the pipe before the pipe is again buried. One method of removing the contaminants and residual coating from the pipe may include blasting a particulate material such as metal shot or sand particles against the exterior surface of the pipe to dislodge the contaminants and/or residual coating from the pipe surface. However, conventional apparatuses which are used to blast or dislodge contaminants and coatings from the surface of a pipe in reconditioning of the pipe are often complex in design and slow and laborious to set up, operate and disassemble.
Therefore, a pipe cleaning apparatus which is simple in design and suitable for expeditiously and efficiently removing contaminants and coatings from the exterior surface of a pipe in reconditioning of the pipe is needed.